I THINK Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has read my “Bersatu and PAS Break-Up is Long Overdue” article.
The speech Muhyiddin gave at Bersatu’s seventh annual general assembly a couple of days after the article came out, sounded like it was made with that article as one of its frames of reference.
It is indeed well that Muhyiddin has acknowledged that Bersatu’s role in Perikatan Nasional (PN) is to spearhead a campaign to conquer Putrajaya. What was missing in his speech though was what exactly is Bersatu planning to do to achieve its aims?
All I heard from Muhyiddin to indicate that Bersatu is not a deadbeat party which is only weighing PN down is his personal assurance that Bersatu is capable of taking on the “failed” Madani government.
However, the Madani government is far from being a failed government. Rather, after two years of being a “do nothing but politicking” government, it has finally showed its mettle which I believe will enable it to go from strength to strength in the days to come,
The Madani government is inching closer to be a party of the working class which unlike the Barisan Nasional (BN) government of the past which tended to empower the Mahakaya (ultra-wealthy) group.
It has already raised wages, set a higher minimum wage, increased social security for all workers – both domestic and foreign – and is taking real measures to distribute the nation’s wealth that is currently concentrated in the hands of the elites.
Economically, PN cannot compete with Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition. No matter how worried or alarmed the capitalists are with PH, they are likely going to place their trust in PH rather than to gamble on the assumption that PN would be able to secure their interest and business prospects.
Religious exploit
The only card that PN currently has to play against the PH is the “enemy of Islam” card as demonstrated by PAS spiritual leader Datuk Hashim Jasin recently during an interview by Utusan Malaysia.
“Looking at the current situation, the Malay Muslims need to unite because subtly, the enemies of Islam are planning and moving,” he observed. “Whether it is PAS or UMNO, we must be aware of the threat from the enemies of Islam.”
Is there really an enemy of Islam in Malaysia and are they really plotting to harm Islam as Hashim believes?
Well, the answer is a little complex – the best way to answer it is by asking in return as to whether there is really an enemy of non-Muslims in Malaysia and whether they are plotting harm against the non- Muslims in Malaysia?
The answer is certainly “NO” in both cases because I seriously doubt that there are a bunch of people who are meeting in secret in the depth of the night to plot how to cause harm both Muslims or non-Muslims in the country.
Nevertheless, there is a need to accept that despite sharing one country, Muslims and non-Muslims in Malaysia do have two distinct identities.
Even when you share a house with your spouse, someone will have to give in to the other so that the other can be as they are.
At the end of the day, it will be either the Muslims or the non-Muslims that will get to feel like they are at home in Malaysia. To achieve that, each will have to convert the other to be more like them and less like themselves.
Considering that DAP is the biggest party in the ruling coalition, I suppose the fear that the non-Muslims have a greater advantage in converting the Muslims to be like them rather than the other way around, will always engulf the minds of the Muslims in Malaysia for as long as PH rules.
Relevancy of Bersatu
However, a lot of that fear has likely abated in the last two years due to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim showing quite clearly that he is the one that wears the pants in PH as opposed to presumptions that it is DAP that is calling the shots from behind the scene as suspected during the 22-month PH 1.0 reign under Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in 2018.
As it stands today, Muslims in Malaysia are likely to give the Madani government the benefit of doubt when it comes to Islam by allowing it to execute the economic reforms that it has planned which is likely going to be beneficial to working class in which the Malay-Muslims are largely a part of.
Even if the Muslims are suspicious of the Madani government’s intentions towards them, the party that they will rally under to address their worry is PAS, not Bersatu.
This again brings us back to the question, what exactly does Bersatu and Muhyiddin have to offer the people and the country to justify its very existence?
For now, we know of the economic transformation that PH is offering as well as the fact that PAS is going to be there to prevent PH from engineering any social transformation.
Even if it succeeds in transforming the country economically, we still would not be able to fathom what is the purpose of Bersatu’s existence.
Or why should anyone, especially PAS, lug its deadweight around Bersatu when despite having nothing to offer, still harbours the ambition of being the party of the PM of Malaysia? – Dec 3, 2024
Nehru Sathiamoorthy is a roving tutor who loves politics, philosophy and psychology.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
Images credit: Muhyiddin Yassin/Facebook
